Improvement in letter-file cabinets



3 Sheets-Sheetl. W. A. AMBERG.

LETTER-FILE CABINET.

- No.171,495. Patented 1360 .28, 1875.

N. PETERS PNOTOJJTHOGRAPHER; WASHINGTON. D. C

3 Sheets-Sheet 2'.

W. A. AMBERG.

LETTER-FILE CABINET.

' Patented Dec. 28,1875.

3 Sheets-$heet 3. W. A. AMBER'G.

LETTER-FILE CABINET.

No.171,495. Patented Dec. 28, 71875.

N.PETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPMEH, WASHINGTON D C WILLIAM A. AMBERG, OFCHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT m LETTER-FILE CABINETS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 171,495, dated December28, 1875; application filed July 24, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. AMBERG, of the city of Chicago, county ofCook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements inCabinet Letter-File, and method and system of filing letters, &c.,therein; and I do hereby declare thatthe following, taken in connectionwith the drawings which accompany and form part of this specification,is adescription of my invention sufficient to enable those skilled inthe art to practice it.

My invention relates to a combination, with a series of self-indexingsheets arranged in file cases or boxes, of a cabinet adapted therefor,under a system or systems of arrangement hereinafter set forth, wherebyletters and similar papers may be almost instantly found and referred toat any future time, however large or voluminous the correspondence maybe. p

The present invention has grown out of, and is to some degree basedupon, the plan of filing in self-indexing cases or holders, as shown inmy Patent No. 92,141, dated July 6, 1869, and reissued, No. 4,989, July16, 1872; and in my application filed June 12, 1875, and allowed June30, 1875.

Figure 1 illustrates a cabinet adapted for receiving self-indexing filesandv binders to the number of twenty-seven, most of them being markedwith a single letter of the alphabet, and others with special indicatingnames or words, as convenience may demand. Fig. 2 represents one of myself-indexin g files and binders detached from the cabinet. Fig. 3illustrates an index, preferably made of loose leaves, prior toinserting between the leaves and under their appropriate indicatinginitials any letters, correspondence, postal cards, &c., to be filed inclassified order. Fig. 4 illustrates a bound volume of letters after thesame have been fastened together and removed from the file or holder.sents one of the files or holders, having on it a tabular listindicating the bound volumes which have been removed therefrom, and thecommencing and closing dates of the letters contained in such removedvolumes; and Fig. 6, a cabinet with only six letter files or boxes.

The construction of the cabinet seen in Fig.

Fig. 5 reprea 1 represents a case containing twenty-seven files,lettered with the letters of .the alphabet, each file having, inaddition, an index of loose leaves, thus forming a double index, or oneindex wlthin another.

The methods of filing are simple, the usual Way being to index both bysurnames and Christian names in the case of individuals, and theinitials of the first and second members or names in the case of firmsor corporations. Correspondence from the followingnamed parties would befiled as shown below, the first column representing the files in whichthey are-classified, and the second the letter in the indexes of thesame files in which they are placed.

Letter of Flle' index in file.

Individuals.

Initial Initial of of surname. Christian name.

Cameron, Daniel R.. C. D. Cross, Edwin C. E. Brown, Robert. B. R.Amberg, J. H A. J. Adams, WV. F A. W. Rowell, Thomas R. T. McMullen,-John Mc. J.

Initial of Initial of first name. second name. Firms and corporations.

. Letter F110 of index.

Cameron, Amberg &

Co C. A. Jones & Booth J. B. Brainbridge & Co B. C.

C. & N. W. Railway Co C. N. *The Singer Mfg Co. S. M. Singer, Talcott &00. S. T. Smith &. Brown- Smith. B.

The words the, and, of, &c., are ignored in filing.

It will be seen that a cabinet, as shown. having twenty-seven (27)classified boxes or files, and a sub-classification of twenty-six ormore compartments, by means of the alphabetized index (see Fig. 3) ineach file, will make seven hundred and two (or more) different places orcompartments in which to file letters.

The method of arranging is such that the letters are distributed in themost thorough manner. For instance, letters from parties whose surnamescommence with O are all placed in the O file or box, and these arefurther subdivided into twenty-six divisions, separated by theindex-leaves, each letter being arranged under the initial letter of theChristian name in the case of individuals, or of the second name in thecase of firms or corporations.

Another way is to classify by towns in the indexes; as, for instance--This plan is very simple and readily understood, but is more especiallyapplicable where the correspondence is very scattered, to give the fullbenefit of all the alphabet in the index;

,.Another way wouldbe toreverse the table.

above given, filing towns by the alphabetical letters on the outside ofthe files or boxes, and filing by the parties names in the index withinthe file.

A number of the boxes or files of the cabinet (as many as foundnecessary or convenient) may be devoted to special or peculiarcorrespondence, among which, by way of illustration, may be named, Md,Smith,

. Agents, Salesmen, Orders, First Na- I 0 tlonal Banks, Banks, OtherNational Banks, Bankers, Eastern, Private, Unfinished Business,Strangers, 86G.

Those marked above with a require to be classified by towns in theindex,-under the plan or system of filing first above described.

In many cases I devote one of-the files to two or more letters of thealphabet which are not much used, which does not interfere with eitherplan. 7 y

In the smaller cabinets of fifteen or less files or boxes, the system ofclassifying by towns with the outside letter of reference on the file isthe best.

The filed papers are not all bound up at.

any given time; but as soon as any one of the cases or boxes is full,its contents are bound 'up, as shown in .Fig. 4, and if it is thefirstvolume bound out of the entire cabinet, it is marked 1 on the back; noother indorsement whatever is necessary. Suppose this is taken from-file or "bO ffO, on the bottom of that file, (as well as in everyother,) under the index, a sheet is pasted, (see Fig. 5,) on which is tobe written the dates of commencing and ending of volumes of thatparticular file and the v.0lume number. The next volume bound may be inthe B file or'box, in which are also written the dates comprised withinthe volume and the number 2. The next may be G, which is likewise marked3, and

59. Supposing that a volume were bound out of each file every eightmonths on an average, and we had occasion to refer to Daniel Oameronsletters, we would turn to file CZ .letter D, and perhaps find hisletters for three months past in unbound shape. We then look under theindex-sheets and find the following List of bound volumes of O file.

From- To- Refer to volume.

Jan. 1, 1875. Sept. 10,1875 i Sept. 10, 1875. June 1, 1876. h 31. June1, 1876. Jan. 1, 1877. 59.

It will now be perceived that his correspondencej'or two years and threemonths would all be contained in the three bound volumes, and a fileonly partly full, while at the same time there may have accumulatedabout seventy-five bound volumes on the shelves We would, therefore,haveoccasiontohandle only about one-twenty-sixth of these three volumes inorder to find all his letters, in;-

stead of having to go over every volume.

The same remark asto facility and rapidity I i of finding any storedcorrespondence applies .to a large-as well as to a small correspondence.

Each file or case is also marked on its side,

as well as on its front, with its proper indi-l eating-letter, so thatduring the operation of sorting out a batch ofletters to be filed thebox may be placed endwise, with this side letter visible to the sorter,thus showing in which file or box a given paper or letter is to beplaced.

None of the boxes need be disturbed ex cept as a letter to be filedshall require it,1and

then it may remain with its end outward un;

i This facili tates the rapid and loose placingof the correspondence inthe appropriate boxes, before the til the whole batch is assorted.

g f I i each paper belongs. This second distribution orsub-classification serves as a sure'check to discover and correct anyerrors that may have been committed in the sorting.

The advantages which attach to my cabinet and system of filing thereinmay be briefly and partially stated as follows: It insures rapid sortingand 'filing; it is doubly self-indexing, classifying each letter of thealphabet by means of twenty-six compartments in each file or box, acabinet of thirty files giving seven hundred and eighty filing-spaces;no numbering of the papers is required, and no indorsing of dates ornames thereon, and no writing thereon, is necessary; all folding of thepapers is dispensed with; every mans letters are kept together for along period in an unbound condition, easy to remove, but yet always inthe order of their date; but few volumes require to be looked over whensearching for old correspondence; there is a thorough distribution ofthe papers, and consequently the greatest facility of reference; thebound volumes are solidly-packed letters; postal cards, receipts, andpapers of any kind or size do not alter the shape of the volume, and areas readily filed as other papers;,no indexwriting, or making of anindex, in the common acceptation of the term, is necessary, as

the papers, when rightly put away, are bythat very act self-indexed; itis labor-saving and time-saving, requiring only one=fifth the time infiling, and from one-tenth to one-fiftieth the time infinding lettersthus filed away; correspondence, including the oldest, can be foundalmost instantly; letters from parties having the same initials onlycome together between the same two of the index-sheets.

Additional advantage for reference may be I gained by what I term adirectory classification-that is, by placing all correspondence whichcomes in the same filing-space of the indexing-sheets in the same orderof arrangement as the words in a dictionaryor the names in a directory;and when two or more communications from the same party are filedtogether, (as they must, of necessity, be,) they should then be placedin their order of date.

-The italicized letter in the names, or the italicized date, in thefollowing table, indi-- cates the order of preference in arrangement:

Letter-file Indersletter 7 Date Caldwell," David. Aug. 3. Cameron,Daniel, June 2. Cameron, Daniel, June 20. Cameron, Daniel, July 8.Cameron, Daniel, Aug. 25. Connor, Dorothy, Sept. 5. Crotty, Demus, Jnne 1. Culver, 1 D. Z., July 6. Cuyler, D. R., June 2. Cuyler, D. R.,June 12.

In very extensive correspondence a separate cabinet may be used for oneor more States or countries; or, if still more extensive as, forinstance, in Government matters-a cabinet for each letter of thealphabet, indicating the initial letter of the town or city from whichthe correspondence comes, placing the letters or correspondence in thefiles of the cabinet under the initial letter of the.

writer, as above shown. To illustrate: If James Ward, of Chicago, be thecorrespondent, his letter would be placed in cabinet 0, (indicatingChicago,) in file or box W, (indicating Ward,) and under theindex-letter J, (indicating James,) besides employing the directory andthe date classifications.

The cabinets may be made of any number of files by using a single file,or file and box, for any given number of alphabetical letters or specialpurposesas, for instance, by way in accordance with any of thewithin-described systems.

WM. A. AMBERG.

Witnesses:

JAMES H. WARD, JOHN J. HALSTED.

